Do you have what it takes to start your own business?

If it was easy to own your own business, everyone would. I meet people all the time who have huge dreams, whose notebooks are full of business ideas, who always have an opinion about what corporations should be doing, but their ideas never get off the ground. There is no start in them.

“A true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” Nolan Bushnell

What does it take to successfully run a business? Gallup has identified 10 innate talents a successful entrepreneur must possess. Most people do not have ALL of these talents, so hiring successfully or building a team of advisors is critical. Here are the 10 talents to consider if you are thinking of moving from a dreamer to a doer:

1. Business Focus: You have the ability to make decisions based on observed or anticipated effect on profit.
2. Confidence: You accurately know yourself and understand others.
3. Creative Thinker: You exhibit creativity in taking an existing idea or product and turning it into something better.
4. Delegator: You recognize that you cannot do everything and are willing to contemplate a shift in style and control.
5. Determination: You persevere through difficult, even seemingly insurmountable, obstacles.
6. Independent: You are prepared to do whatever needs to be done to build a successful venture.
7. Knowledge-seeker: You constantly search for information that is relevant to growing your business.
8. Promoter: You are the best spokesperson for the business.
9. Relationship-builder: You have high social-awareness and an ability to build relationships that are beneficial for the firm’s survival and growth.
10. Risk-taker: You instinctively know how to manage high-risk situations.

Only 5 in 1000 working-age adults in the US have all 10 talents. Many entrepreneurs with fewer dominant talents are still very successful. To increase the likelihood of your success, take the BP-10 assessment here and let it help you become aware of your weak and strong areas. Next, seek out partnerships with others who have a different set of talents. A couple of intentional steps could springboard you into your dream of owning your own business.